Signs and Reasons For Learning Difficulties
If your child seems bright to you, but they’re not doing so well in school, you may be wondering what is happening. Are they goofing off when they should be paying attention? Are they trying to seem less smart to fit in with children who may pick on them? Do they have genuine learning difficulties despite being smart in another area? These are all good questions. Before you slap an ADHD label on a child, do some digging first. While ADHD is a real learning disability for some children, far too many just assume that is why a child is under performing at school. There are other things that could be going on, and fixing them won’t require medication.
Some children have the learning difficulties because they can’t pay attention – but they don’t have ADD or ADHD. It could be a boisterous and busy classroom setting that is hurting them. There are some children who can handle a lot of distractions and still do well, but some kids struggle, even though they don’t have ADHD. If you feel your child is just not getting the attention they need or that there is just too much going on in the classroom while the study is ongoing, talk to your child’s teacher about your child’s learning difficulties. They may make some changes that make all the difference.
Some children have sight or hearing problems that haven’t been caught. These can lead to many learning difficulties in otherwise smart children. Some kids will not speak up to say that they can’t see the board or hear the teacher, but these are both things that should be checked out. Talk to your child about problems seeing or hearing in class, and get their hearing and eyesight tested. One of these things may be the only reason why your child has the learning difficulties. They may just need some glasses or help with hearing, or simply to sit closer to the front of the class.
Other children have the learning difficulties that are a little more serious.
Just one of these is dyslexia. This is a serious learning problem that can hinder the brightest of students. This is usually something teachers can catch early, but some don’t. They just assume the child has a lower IQ. These children can even end up in special education because teachers and parents have failed to consider learning difficulties that have nothing to do with IQ or ability to learn. With a little extra help, these kids can surpass.
Sometimes, learning difficulties occur because a child has far bigger issues to worry about, and they cannot focus on their school work. If your child has always done well, and suddenly brings home bad grades, see if they’re behaving differently also. It could very well be that they are being aimed at school by bullies to the degree that they stress so much schoolwork chucks up the sponge. It could also be that they have gotten involved with the wrong crowd and are trying out drugs and drinking. Act swiftly so that each of those problems can be corrected as soon as possible.
